


Happy Together

by 7477



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, Some silly fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-06-26 01:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15652572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7477/pseuds/7477
Summary: A series of drabbles of life of the girls after the game has finished after a good run.





	1. First Visit To The Bookstore

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first drabble in a set of drabbles set after the game ends – mostly just cute fluff about the girls because I have so many feelings. However, there is Doki Doki Literature Club, so expect some angst and references to horror. Also, there may be a more explicit scene later – we will have to see what catches my fancy. If you have any ideas you want to share with me, I’m open to suggestions. The title is taken from the Turtles song because this is where originality goes to die. One last thing – there is a call out to Dog and Scissor for the other three people who watched that anime.

It all started when Sayori suggested that they try something different – Natsuki to try reading a novel and Yuri give manga a try. Yuri hadn’t given it much more thought then gentle chiding from Sayori. Not until Natsuki sidled up next to her, as she packed up her bag, Sayori’s exuberant goodbyes still echoing in her ears. 

“So, which bookstore are you planning to go to?” Natsuki asked.

“What do you mean?”

“For your first manga of course!” Natsuki said in tone that was both excited and exasperated.

“I hadn’t really given it much thought,” Yuri admitted, embarrassment flooding her cheeks. She hadn’t expected Natsuki to follow up on Sayori’s suggestions so quickly, but she certainly couldn’t back out. 

“It’s a good thing I’m coming along then – I know the perfect place.” 

“You’re coming along?” Yuri’s red hot embarrassment felt like it was boiling over your head, spilling out as she fidgeted with her hair.  
“Of course. I couldn’t leave you on your own to be creeped on by a bunch of weird otaku or even worse the ones that would just stare and ogle you. You need someone like me to scare them off.” 

“Oh. I guess that makes sense. Though, we also need to find a novel for you as well.” Yuri could feel her embarrassment drain off, just a bit, with the chance to turn the table on Natsuki. 

“I guess that’s fair,” Natsuki pouted. “But manga first! Come on, before the stores close!” With surprising force from the smaller girl, she grabbed Yuri's hand, forcing her to run to avoid being dragged as they raced out of the school.

Natsuki finally stopped for breath outside of a small, bright store. Muscle bound heroes posed, and cute magical girls smiled at them between towering mecha. Yuri peered in the window trying to look past the posters. The inside was just as colorful, with shelves of manga framed by posed figures, and gunplay models frozen in mock battles. Yuri’s heart sank when she saw the aisles were filled by people browsing, excitingly discussing the latest plot development, or arguing over figurine prices with each other. 

Intimidated, Yuri refused to move off the sidewalk until Natsuki finally caught her breath, and resumed dragging Yuri inside.  
Natsuki ignored any glances and even outright stares as she dragged Yuri to the racks of manga. Trying to ignore her own embarrassment, Yuri looked over the colorful covers. She knew she should give this a chance, but she couldn’t shake the idea of it being childish. What did Natsuki have in mind? A story about high school girls that was more sugary then her cupcakes? An action series where muscle bound heroes shouted at each, subtlety ground into the dust? Yuri braced herself for the worst when Natsuki finally stopped, digging through the shelves. 

What Natsuki pulled out was not what Yuri was expecting. A thick black volume, a red spiral on the cover. 

“What is this?” Yuri asked, as Natsuki gave her the volume. 

“Uzumaki. It’s about a town being menaced by, well, spirals. Look, I know it sounds weird, but the author Ito, is a big name horror author. And weird is sort of your thing.” Yuri opened the volume, letting it fall open onto a random page. Two girls were talking, the art strangely plain compared to the usual exaggeration in manga styles, making the spiral hole in the black haired girl’s head all the more stark, leaping off the page as an eyeball fell down that hole in her head. Yuri’s breath caught, then quickened, her fingers itching to turn the next page. Instead, she closed the book, looking up to see if Natsuki noticed. “He’s not really my thing personally,” Natsuki continued, not noticing, “though I did like the manga he did about his pet cats. But it seemed like the sort of thing you would like.” 

“Thank you,” Yuri said, holding the book close. “You really are a thoughtful friend.” 

Natsuki’s laid back pose, stiffened, and her cheeks turned bright red. “Don’t act like it’s that big of a deal,” she mumbled.

“It still doesn’t mean you’ve gotten out reading a novel.”

“Hey! I wasn’t trying to get out of that,” Natsuki snapped, reviving from her embarrassment.

“Let me check out, and then we will go to my bookstore then. It isn’t far from here.” Brown paper wrapped book tucked into her bag, Yuri took the lead this time. Holding onto Natsuki’s hand as they navigated the busy streets, Yuri felt her heart beat faster as Natsuki bounced behind her. Something about this whole endeavor was strangely intimate, the physical act of guiding someone to a place that had long been a sanctuary, long before Sayori had started the Literature Club. What would Natsuki think of it? The second hand bookstore that was a quiet place, dust falling through the light, shelves and stacks forming a labyrinth of written pages. Yuri was glad that they arrived before her worries could gnaw her nerves to the nub, the bell on the door ringing out into the still air. 

Yuri looked behind, watching Natsuki’s expression as looked at the owner, bent over in front of glass case in front of ancient books, over to the never changing shopfront, and back to Yuri. “This place is so. . .you.” Natsuki said with a smile.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Yuri nervously asked. 

Natsuki made a show of mulling it over. “I guess it’s a good thing,” she finally said with a devilish smirk. Yuri couldn’t help the smile growing on her face. “So, do you have any recommendations for me?”

“I was thinking something by Maxi Akizuki,” Yuri said, as she walked deeper inside, eyes peering into the shelves, looking for the pink sparkly covers that she had on all of her books. 

“Maxi Akizuki – isn’t she the pop idol with long blonde hair?”

“She’s not just an idol, but an author. Her books are very popular.”

“What are they about?”

“Well, I’ve heard they are mostly romances and dramas.”

“You haven’t read them yet?"

“No, not yet, but I thought that might be your thing.” Catching a pink cover sticking out of a drab stack, Yuri pulled it out, holding back the rest of the stack to keep it from topping over. “Here’s one right here.” Natsuki took it with a skeptical frown, examining the thin volume.  
“Did you just pick her because you thought her books were cute?”

“Well, I’ve heard her books described like that, but I also thought something shorter might be easier to get into-” Yuri looked away, her mistake ballooning in her gut. 

“Just because I prefer manga and simple language doesn’t mean I’m an idiot. I can read the most difficult, complex, and thick novel here. I just prefer not to,” Natsuki boasted.

“Really?” Yuri gut settled as a mischievous mood overtook here. “Even the Deadly Sins series by Shinobu Akiyama?”

“Deadly Sins series?”

“I haven’t read them yet, but each volume has a story focused on one of the Deadly Sins from Christianity. I’ve heard that the plots are complex with lots of characters, with formal language that’s heavy with allusions and metaphors, along with subtleties hidden in the text. I think I see the first one down here.” Yuri kneeled down, smoothing down her skirt with one hand while pulling out the think book with the other. Natsuki kneeled down next to her, catching the book as it slipped out of Yuri's hand, needing both hands to carry it. She looked down at the volume, a simple red band with the title written in gold, over a chaotic cover of blue geometric patterns, and other words. The other volumes were lined up next to it, with the simple red band and gold text the only constant among the radically different covers. 

“What do you think?” Yuri asked. 

Natsuki gave a nervous swallow before plastering on a boastful smile. “This will be a piece of cake.” She turned the book over. “Ugh, it’s so expensive.”

Thinking of Natsuki often empty change purse, Yuri blurted out “I could buy it for you.”

Natsuki’s hurt pride manifested as a pouty frown. “I’m fine, I don’t need your help.”

“No, no it’s not like that,” Yuri’s words continued to fall out, despite her brain yelling at her to stop. “I haven’t read the series either, and if you are going to read it, I’m going to read after you. If it’s mine, you’ll definitely return when you are done.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense.” Yuri was relieved to see the pout disappear into an understanding nod. Her brain was scolding her, but right now, she didn’t feel so bad about letting her words flow. 

As they stood up, Yuri could her Natsuki mutter behind, “Man, this is going to take forever to read at Literature Club.”

“Um, maybe you could take it home? It’s not manga, so maybe your father won’t mind.”

“Maybe,” Natsuki replied, looking at the floor. “I mean it’s not manga, but I don’t know. He may not think the Deadly Sins is an appropriate book. . .” 

“Why don’t I take it home on the weekend, and you can come over and read it?” Yuri’s brain’s went from smoldering judgement to full on yelling as her heart beat too fast, and the words tumbled out.

“Are you seriously inviting me to your house?” 

“Yes.”

“Well, it better not be too creepy then,” Natsuki teased. 

“It’s not creepy at all! It’s pretty nice. I’ll make tea and everything!” Yuri exclaimed, mild offense clouding over her fear.

“Well, if you make tea, then I will definitely have to make something to bring. Fine, I’m coming over then. I might even read something.” With that bright smile, Yuri felt her thoughts settle down into something warm and simple. 

“I’m looking forward to it. Let’s swap numbers before we go home.”


	2. Another Day at the Literature Club

Natsuki stormed into the club’s classroom, tossing her bag into a desk that rattled Yuri’s tea set. Sayori looked up from unpacking her own bag, papers already filling up the desk. 

“Bad day?” Sayori asked as Natsuki continued to steam. 

“Yeah,” Natsuki admitted. “Yuri, I’m not in the mood for fighting through the Deadly Sins today. I’m going to just read Parfait Girls.” 

“That’s fine. I was thinking that I need a break from Ito myself.” What Yuri didn’t admit was that she had read it twice over the weekend, had nightmares before school, and couldn’t stop doodling spirals. 

“Told you should’ve slowed down while reading it. I bet you scared yourself, didn’t you?” Natsuki teased from the manga closest.

“Nonsense. It would take more than manga to scare me. I was even planning to reread the Portrait of Markov this week.” 

“Ohh, edgy,” Natsuki commented with a roll of her eyes. Yuri sighed, deciding it wasn’t worth it to pursue it further.

Sayori gave them both a sympathetic smile. “Maybe we should take some time to read before we move on to the main club activity today.” With that, Yuri’s stomach twisted. 

The sharing of poetry with each other. 

Sayori had brought it up last week, with a sad smile when she said that the idea was thought up by an old friend, the same friend who inspired her to start the Literature Club. Yuri and Natsuki hastily reassure her that they would do it, like they were pouring water on a wilting plant. Only later did they any of them have regrets, regrets that had bloomed into full anxiety. Yuri and Natsuki had discussed poetry before and it had not . . .gone well. Now, with their poetry on display-

No wonder why Natsuki was in a bad mood. Though all could use a chance to prepare – especially Sayori who seemed to be working on a poem right now. Why did she wait until now? A quick glance over at Sayori’s desk, and it seemed like all of her papers were covered with writing. Maybe she was just struggling with a difficult poem? Maybe something about that old friend?

As Yuri finished her tea, she thought about the past weekend, the silence of her and Natsuki’s books resting against the table. A silence that was not unfriendly, not after the sharing of tea and mocha. Nothing compared to the usual silence that pervaded Yuri’s house, the silence of just yourself. Would they be able to go back to that silence? Yuri wondered. Or would she somehow mess up this friendship like those in the past? 

Heart pounding, Yuri stepped over to Natsuki’s place against the wall. She slid down next to Natsuki, causing her to look up.   
“I’m sorry if I’m being too forward, but I thought it might be nice to read next to you,” Yuri stuttered out. 

“Suit yourself,” Natsuki said, burying her face in her manga so Yuri couldn’t see her expression. But, Natsuki did lean against her, shoulder resting against Yuri’s ribs. This was closer than Yuri intended, but this wasn’t unpleasant. Even if she couldn’t focus on the book in her hands, not with her heart beating even harder as she felt Natsuki breath next to her, through her school uniform.

With nervous energy, Yuri sneak a glance over at Natsuki. She didn’t notice, her eyes entirely focused on the page. Natsuki’s face had relaxed, even with her biting her lip in concentration. Like this, she was almost. . .

Embarrassed by her own thoughts, Yuri’s eyes darted back. But after a few minutes of fruitlessly reading the same paragraph over and over again. She dared a look again. The same expression as before, the same intrusive thoughts, the same rush of embarrassment. This time Yuri’s eyes darted down and caught the manga page that Natsuki was reading. 

The page was Minori and Alice helping each other get dressed in elaborate costume kimonos. Judging from their dialogue they were getting ready for some sort of play, with Minori worried that her usual luck would strike her on the stage, and Alice reassuring her. As Natsuki turned the pages, the full of chaos of the backstage continued, with lost costumes and broken props before the curtains came up. Then the manga slowed it’s manic pace, focusing on Minori looking out at the audience behind the curtain. She caught the profile of a boy in the crowd – apparently her crush – as the background disappeared into waves of anxiety as Minori stood there, paralyzed. Yuri, caught up in Minori’s self-monologue, was shocked when the next page is just a single line of dialogue – “What is that sound in the trees?” the line that signaled Minori’s entrance. With that, the manga pulled to show Minori pulling the curtain back to approach the stage, and then stumble on her kimono in slow motion. 

“Oh no, Minori!” Yuri exclaimed at the same time as Natsuki cried out, “Wait, they are doing what with those arms?” Mutually guilty, they both looked at each other. 

“Were you reading?” Natsuki finally asked. 

“Well, your manga caught my eye – and you were reading my book too.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t laughing – this is supposed to be a funny chapter.”

“It’s not funny! Minori is struggling with all these feelings and then she trips on stages – how is she going to recover? Will her crush respect her after that? It’s very dramatic.”

“Yuri, you’re taking it too seriously. Though I can’t say I’m surprised. With the way you talk about Portrait of Markov, you made it sound like serious horror.”

“Are you saying that it’s not serious horror?”

“Maybe because it’s words instead of pictures so it’s easier to distant yourself, but it kinda of seems over the top. Like a black comedy performed by slapstick zombies.”

“It works better when you know the context,” Yuri defensively retorted.

“Why don’t you both switch books and start the beginning?” Sayori asked, breaking through their argument. “It would be awfully silly to discover you were wrong because you jumped in the middle of a book.” 

“I guess you’re right.” Natsuki admitted, before grabbing Portrait of Markov out of Yuri’s lap and replacing it with a volume of Parfait Girls. “After you finish that, then you can tell me if it isn’t the funniest thing you’ve ever read.”

“And you can tell me if you still think the Portrait of Markov is still a joke.”

“Well, you two are going to have to do that tomorrow – because it’s time for us to come together and share our poems!” With that Yuri and Natsuki shared a look with each other. A look that was a cross between a condemned prisoner being dragged to execution, and two samurai judging each before drawing their swords. 

Some time later. . .

“Your poem is. . .cute.”

“What did you say?”

“Guys, guys, calm down!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sayori is not paid enough to be the President of this club.


	3. Why Does This Feel Familiar?

Yuri and Natsuki had arranged themselves in their now typical arrangement – sitting side by side, books in their laps – Natsuki had picked the Deadly Sins Vol. 1 again today, and Yuri decided to take a break from the roller coaster life of the Parfait Girls for another Junji Ito book about undead fish invading Tokyo. If it was a good emotional break. You can always count that things will always get worst, no matter what.

Just as the shark appeared on the page with a gu-shunk, the door opened and Sayori walked in. “Sayori, I wasn’t sure if you were coming today,” Yuri said, looking up from her manga.

“Of course, I’m the president after all!”

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, where were you then?”

Sayori’s bright smile slide into a guilty looking smile, as her two fingers touched in a nervous gesture. “I was practicing the piano after school and I kinda of lost track of time. . .”

“Don’t worry, it’s not that big of a deal. Natsuki and I are pretty good taking care of ourselves.” Sayori bounced back to her usual cheerful mood as she set down her bag on one of the desks. “Honestly, I’m kinda of impressed.”

“Eh, I’m not that good.”

“I don’t think I would have the guts to learn to play let alone practice where people might over hear me.”

“Well, it’s made easier that I’m only playing for one person in my mind.” Yuri felt a sudden heavy weight against her arm and side but was far too wrapped in her conversation to check on whatever Natsuki was up to this time.

“Who? Um, is it a boy at school?” Yuri nervously asks. 

“It’s nothing like that!” Sayori protests, before she fell into a sad smile. One that had become too familiar to both Natsuki and Yuri. “You remember me talking about my old friend? She loved playing the piano and even once wrote a song for someone she cared about.” 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to her?”

“She was here one day and then she wasn’t.”

“She died?” Yuri asked, alarmed.

“No, at least I don’t think it’s like that.”

“Did she move away then?” Yuri asked, slightly relived.

“That might be a better way to think about it.”

“Sayori do you know what happened to her?”

“All I can really say is that she was here and then she wasn’t.”

“I’m so sorry. . .” Yuri said, fidgeting with her hair, not sure what to say in this situation. 

“Part of me is still hoping that by doing things she loved, like creating this club and learning to play the piano that she might decide to walk through the door and be with us again.”

Yuri had the sudden image of Sayori playing the piano, wearing that same sad smile as a figure floated behind her, hands resting on Sayori’s shoulders. The figure’s school uniform and long trailing ponytail – ponytail seemed right – could be seen but her face was obscured. Yuri asked herself if it would wrong to write a poem about this image. Maybe if she just never showed Sayori. . . 

“Sayori, I want you to know that if that never happens, you will always have me and Natsuki. Right, Natsuki?” Natsuki didn’t say anything. “Right, Natsuki?” Yuri expected a “what, sure, whatever.” Natsuki’s stock phrase when disturbed from her reading, but still nothing. Yuri looked over, seeing Natsuki’s head resting against her arm, pigtails ruffled, eyes closed. “Natsuki?” Yuri asked, her voice raising in alarm.  
Sayori sprinted pass the desks, stopping short of crashing into both Yuri and Natsuki. “Fuck. This scene isn’t supposed to happen.” Yuri blinked, not understanding anything out of Sayori’s mouth. “Sometimes Natsuki gets so hungry she faints,” Sayori explained in a single breath while tearing through her bag. “Maybe I have a protein bar in here somewhere.”

Yuri doubted that even a plain protein bar would last long in Sayori’s possession. “Sayori, there should be a bag of chocolates and my change purse in my bag. Toss the chocolates and use my change to get something from the vending machine so Natsuki’s blood sugar doesn’t crash in only a few hours.”

Sayori froze. “Of course there is a bag of chocolates,” she muttered. Yuri couldn’t understand – it was an impulse buy for a snack after sharing poems. This was going to be the first time she ever brought a snack to the club before. But, Yuri didn’t have time to contemplate Sayori’s strange remarks. Not with a thrown bag of chocolates thudding against her chest and flopping onto her lap as Sayori ran out of the room. 

Natsuki stirred from the noise as Yuri ripped the bag open, regretting that she couldn’t enjoy the fine wrapping as it tore. Pulling out a chocolate, Yuri holds it carefully in her fingers so it won’t melt. Natsuki’s eyelids fluttered as Yuri move, half opening as Yuri lifted the chocolate to Natski’s mouth. 

The feeling of Natsuki’s breath, right before the faint brush of her lips on the tips of Yuri’s fingers as Natsuki’s mouth closed on the chocolate was exhilarating. As Yuri fished out another chocolate, it wasn’t just the heart racing, breathless feeling that had become part of Yuri’s daily life that filled her head – there was an even odder feeling. A feeling with the intense familiarity of déjà vu but viewed from a previously unseen angle. Like the way your neighborhood changes at night or those optical illusions after you’ve learned to see the other hidden object, not just the dolphins. 

The second chocolate was enough to revive Natsuki, Yuri learned when Natsuki snatched the chocolates out of her lap, tearing into them like she hadn’t eaten in days. Yuri hoped that she had eaten in days. Embarrassed, Yuri looked away, hiding her sight in the pages of her book. Staring at those metal spiderlegged fish, Yuri willed herself to retreat into her happy space. Practice made it easy to become lost in the ill-fated adventures of the characters.

Yuri was so focused that when she felt soft tap on her lips and the taste of sweetness, she didn’t think as she bit down on the chocolate. She dropped the book, as she was overwhelmed. This time it was pure déjà vu, not obscured at all. Another day, another book, a different piece of chocolate, offered by someone who loved her – it was too faint to be a memory but it was strong enough that when Yuri jerked her head to look at Natsuki, she couldn’t say anything. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” Natsuki protested. “It was your chocolate after all – I wouldn’t steal all of them from you. So don’t look so surprised!” Her head was turned away, filled with embarrassment about this whole scene. 

“No, it’s not like that. . .” With all the feelings, and thoughts filling Yuri’s head, her mouth shut tight over any words, worried what might spill out. 

Thankfully, that’s was when Sayori returned, arms filled with snacks. 

“Did-did you use all my money to buy snacks?” Yuri asked. 

“Uh, no, the machine just spit them all out. You know when it gives you an extra candy? It’s just like that.” Sayori dropped them all on the floor, as she sat down in front of Yuri and Natsuki. 

Natsuki’s eyes grew big at the feast, and her blush deepened even further. “Sayori, you shouldn’t have. . .I can’t eat all this – not when my dad is working on a big dinner at home.”

“Oh, I didn’t think you would have it all now – we can store them next to your manga collection in the closet.” 

“I don’t need your pity! You don’t need to steal Yuri’s money! I can handle myself!” Natsuki’s shouting was chocked by her tears.

“I actually don’t mind. . .” Yuri interjected, still feeling too emotionally shaky to steel herself to calm down Natsuki.

“Natsuki, this isn’t all for you – they for all us. Spicy peanuts for you, chocolate cookies for me, and melon gummies for Yuri.” As Sayori talked, she passed out the snacks mentioned. “And plenty more than that. Which is a good thing. I think something has gone wrong with the coding.”

“The coding?” Natsuki asked, voice still choked. 

“Um, you know, the computer in the vending machine. It must have broken. Probably should stay away from it for a few days until it gets fixed. So snack time, and then poems?” Yuri nodded while opening her bag of gummis, watching Natsuki. Natsuki still had tears but she took the peanuts from Sayori. 

Sayori gave a smile. “You are right Yuri, I am lucky to have you two.” As Sayori bit into her cookie, Yuri wondered what life would be like without her. It was not a pleasant thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that even with the powers of the president, Sayori is still a klutz. 
> 
> Some news: I will be busy with about four work projects in September, so updates will be sporadic on this and Choose Your Own Adventure: Night Parade. Which makes me sad - I wanted to power on through and get to Monika's appearance.


End file.
